Publishing

I am still navigating my way around the self-publishing world.   The paperback version of Hook and Claw has now been released on Amazon and Create Space.  Here is a link to the Createspace page where the book may be purchased: https://www.createspace.com/6392312

Writing the book was a long labor of love.  At the time I was working on my Master's Thesis and my endeavor was to incorporate as much of the knowledge I gathered from all my classes into the novel.
So the novel encompasses Film Noir, History, Native American Lore, and Sociology.  I hope you enjoy reading the book as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Racism, Politics, and Guns

ON GUNS

The events of the last few days are very troubling, very troubling indeed.   Police killings of innocent black men and the resultant backlash and killings of innocent police officers.  What is it in this country that stirs up such hate.

The NRA for better or for worse sanctions the wholesale distribution of guns and could care less about the resulting carnage.  A gross misinterpretation of the constitution, money for corrupt politicians, and the promotion of fear leads to a society that has begun the transition back to the Old West, where guns abound and justice was served by posses and lynch mobs.  I fear for the future of my country, my children, and our world.   Jesus said those that live by the sword will die by the sword.  Substitute gun for sword and you have our future.

I am not, repeat not, against guns.  In this day and age a gun may be required for survival and unless we become a totalitarian country our guns will remain.  What I would like to see is gun training, stiffer background checks, psychological testing, and a required insurance policy for owning a gun.  Don't be an idiot like Ted Nugent and think we need to arm ourselves against the government.   Last I checked an Ar-15 did not stack up very well against an Abrams tank.  If it comes to that point all hope will be lost anyway.

ON RACISM

Perhaps I am not qualified to talk about race.  I am a white, middle-aged, Christian, veteran of the United States Navy.  I served with all color and manner of people, I travelled to many parts of the world, I have seen prejudice, and have been a victim of prejudice.  Unbelievable you say?  Believe me, when you visit a country that does not like Americans you will come to understand.  I learned Italian and Spanish to try and fit in to the cultures and it was a rewarding experience.  Despite what the media portrays most people on this earth are like you and me, they want to eat, drink, breathe, and live.  Most don't care about politics, stock markets, and power.  The evil in the world make the headlines, feed the fear, drive the need for more guns and weapons, and seem to control our destinies.

I married a Mexican woman and my granddaughter is a member of the Potawatomi tribe.  I am a lay preacher in the Episcopal Church and have been on many missions to the Dominican Republic.  When a woman where I work found out that people in the Dominican Republic were black she looked aghast and said, "you like black people?"  I replied with a WTF and said I like all people, we were all made from the same creator and only our own hubris has alienated us from each other.  Yes, racism does exist and right in front of our noses.  

My father was a police officer in Fort Wayne for twenty years.  He never shot anyone even though he was shot at once (not by a black man, but by a Korean war vet who was a little nuts).  What my father told me when I was young had a profound influence on me.  We were talking about black folks and a recent incident where I was chased by a gang of black kids in school.  My father told me, "there are bad folks out there sure, but for the most part people are good, no matter what their color."  That has always stuck with me and I don't think I could represent God if I didn't believe that.

I could write more on the subject and probably will later.  Racism to me is ignorant and evil ... period.

ON POLITICS

If there exists a subject almost as frightening and despicable as racism it is politics.  This presidential election has brought out the worst in the Democratic party and the laughingstock called the Republican party.  For the first time ever I contributed to a campaign and that was for Bernie Sanders. Did I think he had a chance, maybe an outside chance, but I found him to be a man of principle of high moral character, and a person genuinely concerned with the welfare of the people.  

Now I am faced with a choice between a narcissist Trump or the arrogant oligarch Clinton.  I distrust both, but I actually fear for our future with Trump.  Must I pick between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea?  Apparently so.  For all my friends that believe the Fox News hyperbole that Obama ruined the country, show me your proof?  George Bush and Dick Cheney started this country on the road to hell and we will probably never recover.  President Eisenhower warned this country about the Military-Industrial complex and we ignored him.  We now suffer the consequences.  

However I do believe that the true downfall of our political system began with the Supreme Court decision that corporations are people.  What a collection of educated idiots that band of merry fools is.  I am beginning to think our country will not survive the next century, we believe the fear fueld media and seem to have lost the power of rational thought.

Just a few ramblings from a mad-as-hell middle aged man.

Paperback Writer

The last couple of weeks I have been working on a print copy of my novel, Hook & Claw.   The self-publishing world has become easier the last few years, which is a good thing.  Of course this also makes it easier for any hack writer to come along and publish their works and that makes for a lot of competition.

I'm still researching the ins and outs of advertising, everyone wants your money, but not everyone delivers on their promises.  

More Articles and still learning the art of publishing and advertising on Amazon

Tonight I published another article, this one on Major Tom Harrisson.   Major Harrisson was a British Commando in charge of a team of Australian Commandos who landed on Borneo during World War II.   Major Harrisson is the officer responsible for rescuing the downed crew of an American B24 Liberator.  That crew included my cousin Tom Capin.

A couple weeks ago I published my book,  Hook and Claw on the Amazon Kindle platform.  So far my friends have been kind enough to buy five copies.  I need to advertise and that is where the risk versus payout comes into play.  Alas, the old saying is true, you must spend money to make money.

Publishing Articles that I wrote for Suite101

Since the demise of Suite101, I have been sitting on articles that I wrote the last few years.  I own the copywrite for the articles and at the moment all the links are dead to Suite. Some of the articles  are based on information I obtained from reading biographies.  However one hits closer to home and that is the article about Tom Capin.   In my youth I was told of Tom Capin's adventures in Borneo after his bomber was shot down by the Japanese.  I remember Tom visiting my grandmother's house, but I never heard him speak of his tim in Borneo.  Later, when I became interested in writing I tracked down his widow, Betty, and spent the night at her house in Idaho.  She was gracious in letting me read Tom's personal papers.  Betty had married Tom at the start of the war and stayed in Fort Wayne with his parents.  On occasion she would visit my Grandparents house and she told me stories of playing with my father when he was very young.

Tom was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his assistance with the Australian Commandos who rescued him.  A true hero if there ever was one.

Hook and Claw has been released.

Last week I finally got off my butt and published my book, Hook and Claw, on Amazon Kindle.  I wrote the book a few years ago and sent out numerous queries to publishers.  One of the publishers sat on the book for over six months, sending my work through various levels of readers until the final reader, obviously a malcontent, decided she did not like the voice or perhaps it was something else.   Dismayed I put the book back into my electronic filing cabinet and tried to forget about it.

My muse however, would have none of that.  Tickling my brain for over ten years she, and yes my muse is a she, finally pushed me into doing something.  Perhaps it was my own indignation that said I could write better than ninety percent of the crap coming out on Amazon.  Perhaps I am living a fools dream.  Perhaps!

I wrote the book as a result of various classes I took in pursuit of my Master's degree from Indiana University.  The classes included local history, Native American Literature, Film Noir,  Creative Writing with Francis Sherwood, and the class that taught me critical thinking with Ken Smith.  Dr Smith would become the sponsor for my Master's Thesis and with his help, constructive criticism, humor, and gentle suggestions, Hook and Claw came into being.

Dr Smith is one of those rare teachers with the ability to make you feel good about yourself as he delivers constructive criticism.  Always searching the students motives for clues as to why the wrote a certain way, Dr Smith is a word sleuth of the utmost degree.   Without his help I believe the book would have become a task instead of what it is, a work of love.

Someone once said that most author's works are underwhelming until the third novel.  If that is the case I better get cracking and get another one under my belt before I write the "good one."